Organization saves the Mississippi riverfront one tree at a time
Mississippi Park Connections actively provides community engagement and river rehabilitation in a time of destruction.
By Grace Holmes and Ethan Scheibe | Reporters
Mississippi Park Connection partners with the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area to get people to engage with the 72-mile stretch of the Mississippi River, which runs through the Twin Cities, from the Ramsey-Dayton area all the way to Hastings.
MPC has three main focuses: youth education, environmental stewardship, and community programs. Pre-pandemic, it would offer field trip opportunities to get kids down to the river to have a positive, educational park experience with a park ranger. They worked to get kids out of the classroom while still maintaining classroom components to ensure they’re learning about the river while having fun. Now, in the midst of the pandemic, field trips have gone virtual, which has turned out to be a positive as their classes are now all free and accessible to anyone, anywhere in the country.
The leaders’ environmental stewardship efforts have included habitat restoration and invasive species management, such as buckthorn, garlic mustard, and beetles. Their Mississippi River Crew has had to remove large quantities of ash trees due to an infestation of Emerald Ash borer which make the trees dangerous as they compromise the structural integrity of the trees. MPC and other land managers were then faced with the task of replacing the missing trees with new ones, and for that they had to consider which species would be most likely to thrive in coming years while factoring in how climate change may affect which species would be the best option. Minnesota alone stands to lose approximately 1 billion ash trees, and the gaps will need to be filled to prevent the growth of other invasive species. They are now in the midst of a 20 year study to learn more about which species will thrive best in this part of the world now.
In the summer of 2020 Mississippi Park Connection planned to plant trees along the Mississippi river. It was around the time the world seemed to stop. Just like everyone else in the world, MPC had to halt some operations due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. They had been planning to plant 1200 trees at Crosby Farm Regional Park to fill in the tree canopy where ash trees have been lost to the Emerald ash borer. This plan had already been in the works for months, and amidst an already complicated logistical puzzle, it was made even more complicated when factoring in the difficulties related to the pandemic. They already knew that it was going to take a lot of volunteers, hours, and coordinating, but on top of that, they had trees scheduled to be shipped from throughout the country in a time when people were struggling to get basic necessities like toilet paper.
The week the planting was to happen, happened to be the very week when protests and riots against police brutality broke out in the Twin Cities, sparked by of the murder of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer. The MPC crew questioned whether it was ethical or appropriate to continue with the planting. Knowing the trees would die if they weren’t put in the ground soon, the crew opted to proceed with their planting operation. Instead of having all the volunteers out at the same time, as planned, they had to adjust to the group sizes according to the Covid-19 restrictions. They made it work, they adapted.
“We like to say that we are very much like the river in that we are resilient and we adapt,” Sacarelos said.
With everything that has been thrown at them this year, they have gotten the chance to prove just how resilient they can be. Not only that, but the COVID-19 restrictions have proven just how important parks and green spaces are, especially in times like these.
Sacarelos stated that it already felt strange to be asking people to volunteer in a time when so many people had their own problems to be dealing with, with many people unemployed and in need. Although, Sacarelos noted, planting the trees didn’t seem like a high-priority issue considering everything else going on, they concluded that it might just be what the community needed. An escape from reality. An hour or two in nature, away from the chaos, planting trees. And that is exactly what Crosby Farm Regional Park planting project provided.
“Everyone deserves a little mental break,” Sacarelos said.
Overall, MPC wasn’t as negatively impacted as many other businesses and organizations. The only major changes they had to make was closing their visitor centers and adapting their classes and field trips have become virtual, their efficacy and ambition hasn’t changed.
“The thought is that if people are able to form a personal connection with the river, people will inherently care about the river. . .It’s not just about getting people to volunteer or getting them to donate, it’s about them really connecting with the river.” –Callie Sacarelos
Their goal is still to make the river and its parks something the community cares about. They host events and programs to get the community involved and learn more about the river.
“The thought is that if people are able to form a personal connection with the river, people will inherently care about the river. . .It’s not just about getting people to volunteer or getting them to donate, it’s about them really connecting with the river,” Sacarelos said.
(Edits and updates were made to this story Dec. 18.)
